The Stateless Rohingya Blog

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay   Photo: unspecial.org The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday called for a “prompt, independent” investigation into ongoing human rights violations in Burma’s Arakan (Rakhine) State after ongoing violence between the Buddhist and Muslim communities.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay   GENEVA (27 July 2012) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday raised serious concerns about ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after the violence between the Buddhist and Muslim communities there, urging a prompt, independent investigation.

A Muslim Indonesian holds a banner during a protest in front of the Burma Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, July 13, 2012 M uslim groups worldwide are increasing pressure on the Burmese  government  to stop human rights abuses committed against ethnic Rohingya Muslims.  The plight of the technically stateless group in Burma's western Rakhine state has long been a concern of the global Muslim community. But attention has intensified in recent weeks after longstanding tensions erupted between the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, leaving dozens dead and tens of thousands displaced.

Iranian demonstrators condemn the killing and torture of Rohingya Muslims by extremists Buddhists in Myanmar on July 27, 2012. Thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets after Friday Prayers in the capital, Tehran, and other cities to condemn the grizzly genocide of the ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The fasting demonstrators in Tehran denounced the mass killings of Myanmarese Muslims, shouted slogans in support of Rohingya Muslims, and demanded an immediate halt to the government-backed crimes against them.

If you paid especially close attention to the news these past few weeks, you might have caught some fleeting mention of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Considering how little the American media, and to only a slightly lesser extent their international counterparts, have covered this latest outbreak of violence between Buddhist nationalists and minority Rohingya Muslims, you are squarely in the majority if you have no idea that  dozens have been butchered  and hundreds have attempted (unsuccessfully) to  flee their homeland .

NEW YORK, July 27 (UPI) -- The United Nations would assist Myanmar in its reconciliation effort in Rakhine state, where violence has taken at least 12 lives, a top U.N. official said. "The United Nations is committed to assisting Myanmar and its people in their reform and national reconciliation efforts, including overcoming imminent challenges," said Vijay Nambiar in a statement carried by the U.N. News service.

Rohingya children study in a school by a mosque before Friday prayers in the village  of Gollyadeil, north of the town of Sittwe on 18 May 2012. (Reuters) Tens of thousands of teachers will carry out Burma’s first nationwide census since 1983, a minister said yesterday, but some areas may remain out of reach because of conflict with separatist groups.